Embiid out for Game 2 after Simmons, vets lead Sixers in Game 1

Sixers coach Brett Brown, rookie Markelle Fultz and JJ Redick after the 130-103 win over Miami in Game 1.

Martin Frank/The News Journal

PHILADELPHIA – The 76ers' motto for this season was "Welcome to the Moment."

Welcome, indeed.

Sixers forward Darlo Saric (top) wrestles for the ball with Miami's Justise Winslow in the second ...more

Sixers forward Darlo Saric (top) wrestles for the ball with Miami's Justise Winslow in the second half of the Sixers' 130-103 win in the opening game of the first round of the NBA playoffs at the Wells Fargo Center Saturday.

William Bretzger, The News Journal

The Sixers played their first playoff game in six seasons. Six long, losing seasons of embarrassing proportions. In the 2015-16 season, the Sixers had 30 losses and just one win after 31 games.

This season, the Sixers had 30 losses spread out over an entire 82-game regular season. They finished the regular season on a 16-game winning streak. They made it 17 after blowing out the Miami Heat 130-103 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs on Saturday night.

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They did this without Joel Embiid, their All-Star center, who sat out his ninth game in a row with a facial fracture. Embiid rang the honorary bell before the game, wearing a white "Phantom of the Opera" type mask.

Then he sat on the bench and watched. On Sunday, the Sixers ruled Embiid out for Game 2 on Monday night. If asked to ring the ball again, will he go with the Jason Voorhees "Friday the 13th" hockey mask?

Stay tuned.

The Sixers have Ben Simmons, the rookie phenom who controlled everything, with 17 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds. They had sharpshooters JJ Redick with a team-high 28 points, Dario Saric, Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova.

In all, the Sixers made 18 of 28 3-pointers.

Belinelli, who finished with 25 points, hit an off-balance 3-pointer while going to his right and putting the ball up on one leg. His teammates hardly batted an eye.

"Now, we're used to it," forward Robert Covington said. "When he first got here [in March], we'd be like, 'Whoa!' Now, I've seen it for so long, and him doing that, it's just part of his game. We expect at least three or four of those."

Philadelphia's Dario Saric can't get the ball in front of Miami's Tyler Johnson (top) and Justise Winslow in the second half of the Sixers' 130-103 win in the opening game of the first round of the NBA playoffs at the Wells Fargo Center Saturday.

William Bretzger, The News Journal

The playoffs are different from the regular season. The opponents aren't the dregs of the league like the Brooklyn Nets or Atlanta Hawks. Instead, the opponent is a team that can adjust and expose every weakness.

And it certainly started out that way. The Heat took a 12-point lead in the second quarter. There were 27 fouls called in the first half. And the Sixers had just four fast-break points.

It was a slog, and that's exactly what the Heat wanted as they had a four-point lead.

So, welcome to the playoffs, Ben Simmons, and here's Hassan Whiteside blocking your path to the basket and limiting the Sixers to just four fast-break points in the first half.

Oh, and welcome, too, Markelle Fultz. There he was, trying to get to the basket in the second quarter, only to get fouled hard by Wade.

Philadelphia's Markelle Fultz looks to the basket past Miami's Kelly Olynyk (left) and Justice Winslow in the second half of the Sixers' 130-103 win in the opening game of the first round of the NBA playoffs at the Wells Fargo Center Saturday.

William Bretzger, The News Journal

Earn your points at the line, kid.

"This world that [Fultz] is going into is different," Brown said. "I told my team that each of you are going to learn more about yourselves than any coach, or any experience could have taught you, ever. The NBA playoffs is the greatest professor you’ll ever have. And Ben Simmons is going to learn. And Robert Covington is going to learn. And Markelle at 19 will certainly learn along with them."

Well, they're quick learners, outscoring the Heat 74-43 in the second half.

And they took their cues from veterans like Covington, who was part of the Sixers during that 1-30 start two years ago, who was considered one of the many pieces of "The Process" who might either stick or get discarded like dozens of other players.

He stuck.

Sixers forward Robert Covington (33) stymies Miami's Tyler Johnson in the first half of the Sixers' ...more

Sixers forward Robert Covington (33) stymies Miami's Tyler Johnson in the first half of the Sixers' 130-103 win in the opening game of the first round of the NBA playoffs at the Wells Fargo Center Saturday.

William Bretzger, The News Journal

There he was, playing stifling defense, which he showed on the Heat's second possession, when he blocked a fast-break layup attempt, then blocked the rebound before getting called for the foul.

"Covington was unbelievable," Brown said. "I thought he was a man."

Then Brown called him "the poster child of a developmental player."

"We knew it was going to be physical," Fultz said. "We were ready, I think. We were there, physicality-wise, not really looking for calls, and just playing our hearts out."

Sixer Ben Simmons grabs rebound in front of teammate Amir Johnson in the first half of the Sixers' ...more

Sixer Ben Simmons grabs rebound in front of teammate Amir Johnson in the first half of the Sixers' 130-103 win in the opening game of the first round of the NBA playoffs at the Wells Fargo Center Saturday.

William Bretzger, The News Journal

The Sixers scored 15 straight points in the third quarter to go from a seven-point deficit to an eight-point lead.

Wade looked old. Whiteside, who was supposed to dominate without Embiid in the middle, was a non-factor, with just two points in 12 minutes.

And as Redick put it: "It was that stretch, really to start the third, where we were getting stops and making shots. It was like we tied it, and all of a sudden, we looked up and we were up 11."

And then it was 15, 16, 22, 25 and just before the end, 29.

Philadelphia's Amir Johnson (left) tries to keep control against Miami's Wayne Ellington in the ...more

Philadelphia's Amir Johnson (left) tries to keep control against Miami's Wayne Ellington in the first half of the Sixers' 130-103 win in the opening game of the first round of the NBA playoffs at the Wells Fargo Center Saturday.

William Bretzger, The News Journal

No, the series isn't over. As Heat coach Erik Spoelstra put it: "They don't get two wins, three wins for this. It's one win."

The Sixers still have to win three more games, and the Heat will no doubt study the video, make adjustments, and come up with a different plan. The Sixers know this.

"We have way more to go, and way more to grow," Brown said.

But in the end, talent wins, and the Sixers have so much more — with or without Embiid.